Death of Diana, Princess of Wales

On thirty one August one thousand nine hundred ninety seven Diana, Princess of Wales, died as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l’Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Dodi Fayed and Henri Paul, the driver of the Mercedes-Benz S280, were pronounced dead at the scene; the bodyguard of Diana and Fayed, Trevor Rees-Jones, was the only survivor.

Diana’s death caused a substantial outpouring of worldwide trouble, including numerous floral tributes, and her funeral on six September was observed by an estimated Two.Five billion people. The Royal Family were criticised in the press for their reaction to the death, tho’ they were simply following established protocol. Public interest in Diana has remained high, and she has retained regular press coverage.

Albeit the media blamed the paparazzi following the car, an 18-month French judicial investigation found that the crash was caused by Paul, who lost control of the car at high speed while inebriated. Paul was the deputy head of security at the Hôtel Ritz and had earlier goaded the paparazzi waiting outside the hotel. [1] His inebriation may have been exacerbated by anti-depressants and traces of a tranquillising anti-psychotic in his assets. [Two] [Trio] The investigation concluded that the photographers were not near the Mercedes when it crashed. [Four]

Contents

Crash Edit

On Saturday, thirty August 1997, Diana left Sardinia on a private jet and arrived in Paris with Dodi Fayed, the son of Mohamed Al-Fayed. [Five] They had stopped there en route to London, having spent the preceding nine days together on board Mohamed Al-Fayed’s yacht Jonikal on the French and Italian Riviera. [6] They had intended to stay there for the night. Mohamed Al-Fayed was and is the holder of the Hôtel Ritz Paris. He also wielded an apartment in Rue Arsène Houssaye, a brief distance from the hotel, just off the Avenue des Champs Elysées. [7]

Henri Paul, the deputy head of security at the Ritz Hotel, had been instructed to drive the hired black one thousand nine hundred ninety four Mercedes-Benz S280 in order to elude the paparazzi; [8] a decoy vehicle left the Ritz very first from the main entrance on Place Vendôme, attracting a throng of photographers. Diana and Fayed then departed from the hotel’s rear entrance, [9] rue Cambon at around 00:20 on thirty one August CEST (22:20 on thirty August UTC), heading for the apartment in Rue Arsène Houssaye. They did this to avoid the almost thirty photographers waiting in the front of the hotel. [9] They were the rear passengers; Trevor Rees-Jones, a member of the Fayed family’s private protection team, was in the (right) front passenger seat. [Ten] It was believed that Diana and Dodi were not wearing seat belts. [11]

After leaving the rue Cambon and crossing the Place de la Concorde, they drove along Cours la Reine and Cours Albert 1er – the embankment road along the right bank of the Sea Seine – into the Place de l’Alma underpass. [12] At around 12:23 a.m., at the entrance to the tunnel, Paul lost control; the car swerved to the left of the two-lane carriageway before colliding head-on with the 13th pile supporting the roof at an estimated speed of one hundred five km/h (65 mph). [13] It then spun and hit the stone wall of the tunnel rearwards, eventually coming to a stop. The influence caused substantial harm, particularly to the front half of the vehicle, as there was no guard rail inbetween the poles to prevent this. [14] Witnesses arriving shortly after the accident reported smoke. [15] Witnesses also reported that photographers on motorcycles "swarmed the Mercedes sedan before it entered the tunnel." [11]

Aftermath Edit

As the victims lay in the wrecked car, the photographers, who had been driving slower and were accordingly some distance behind the Mercedes, reached the scene. The photographers were on motorcycles. [9] Some rushed to help, attempted to open the doors and help the victims, while some of them took pictures. [16] Airbags were deployed. [17] Police arrived on scene around ten minutes after the crash at 00:30 [16] and an ambulance was on site five minutes after the police, according to witnesses. [17] France Info radio reported that one photographer was hammered by witnesses who were horrified by the scene. [11] Five of the photographers were taken into custody. [15] Later, two others were detained and around twenty rolls of film were taken from the photographers. [11] Police also impounded their vehicles. [11] Firemen also arrived to help liquidate the victims. [Legitimate]

Still conscious, Rees-Jones had suffered numerous serious facial injuries and a head contusion. [Nineteen] The front occupants’ airbags had functioned normally. [20] The occupants were not wearing seat belts. [a] Diana, who had been sitting in the right rear passenger seat, was still conscious. [16] Critically injured, Diana was reported to murmur repeatedly, "Oh my God," and after the photographers and other helpers were shoved away by police, "Leave me alone." [21] In June two thousand seven the Channel four documentary Diana: The Witnesses in the Tunnel claimed that the very first person to touch Diana was Dr. Maillez, [22] who chanced upon the scene. He reported that Diana had no visible injuries but was in shock. [23] Diana was liquidated from the car at 1:00 am. She then went into cardiac arrest and following outward cardiopulmonary resuscitation, her heart embarked hitting again. [24] She was moved to the SAMU ambulance at 1:Eighteen am, left the scene at 1:41 am and arrived at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital at Two:06 am. [25]

Fayed had been sitting in the left rear passenger seat and was shortly afterwards pronounced dead. [26] Paul was proclaimed dead on removal from the wreckage. [16] Both were taken to the Institut Médico-Légal (IML), the Paris mortuary, not to a hospital. [27] Paul was later found to have a blood alcohol level of 1.75 grams per liter of blood – about Trio.Five times the legal limit in France. [Nineteen]

Despite attempts to save her, Diana’s internal injuries were too extensive: her heart had been displaced to the right side of the chest, which tore the pulmonary vein and the pericardium. Despite lengthy resuscitation attempts, including internal cardiac rubdown, she died at Four:00 a.m. [28] [29] Anesthesiologist Bruno Riou announced her death at six am at a news conference held at the hospital. [15] [30]

Later that morning, Jean-Pierre Chevènement (French Minister of the Interior) visited the hospital with French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. [31] At around Five:00 pm, Diana’s former hubby, Charles, Prince of Wales, and her two older sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Lady Jane Fellowes, arrived in Paris. [32] The group visited the hospital along with French President Jacques Chirac and thanked the doctors for attempting to save her life. [33] Prince Charles accompanied Diana’s figure home on Sunday. [34]

Initial media reports stated Diana’s car had collided with the pile at one hundred ninety km/h (120 mph), and that the speedometer’s needle had jammed at that position. [Nineteen] It was later announced the car’s speed on collision was about 95–110 km/h (60–70 mph). The car was certainly travelling much quicker than the speed limit of fifty km/h (31 mph). In 1999, a French investigation concluded the Mercedes had come into contact with another vehicle (a white Fiat Uno) in the tunnel. [35] The driver of that vehicle has never been traced, and the specific vehicle has not been identified. [35]

It was remarked by Robin Cook, the British Foreign Secretary, that if the accident had been caused in part by being hounded by paparazzi, that it would be "doubly tragic." [9] Diana’s brother also blamed tabloid media for her death. [36] An 18-month French judicial investigation concluded in one thousand nine hundred ninety nine that the crash was caused by Paul, who lost control at high speed while intoxicated. [37]

Members of the public were invited to sign a book of condolence at St. James Palace. [38] The light bulbs at Harrods, all 11,000 of them, were turned off and not switched on again until after the funeral. [38] Via the night, members of the Women’s Royal Voluntary Service and the Salvation Army provided support for people queuing along the Mall. [39] More than one million bouquets were left at her London home, Kensington Palace, [40] while at her family’s estate of Althorp the public was asked to stop bringing flowers as the volume of people and flowers in the surrounding roads was said to be causing a threat to public safety. [41]

By ten September, the pile of flowers outside Kensington Gardens was five feet (1.Five m) deep in places and the bottom layer had embarked to compost. [42] The people were quiet, queuing patiently to sign the book and leave their gifts. There were a few minor incidents. Fabio Piras, a Sardinian tourist, was given a one-week prison sentence on ten September for having taken a teddy bear from the pile. When the sentence was later diminished to a £100 fine, Piras was punched in the face by a member of the public when he left the court. [43] The next day two women, a 54-year-old secondary school teacher and a 50-year-old communications technician, were each given a 28-day prison sentence for having taken eleven teddy bears and a number of flowers from the pile outside the palace. [44] This was diminished to a fine of £200 each. [45]

Early on, it was uncertain if she would have a state funeral since Diana had lost her royal status because of her divorce from Prince Charles in 1996. [46]

Diana’s death was met with extreme public expressions of distress, and her funeral at Westminster Abbey on six September drew an estimated three million mourners and onlookers in London, [47] [48] and worldwide television coverage observed by Two.Five billion people. [49] It was aired to two hundred countries in forty four languages. [50] Outside the Abbey and in Hyde Park crowds observed and listened to proceedings on large outdoor screens and speakers as guests filed in, including representatives of the many charities of which Diana was patron. Attendants included US Very first Lady Hillary Clinton, Bernadette Chirac, wifey of the French President, Jacques Chirac and other celebrities, including Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti and friends of Diana, George Michael and Elton John. [ citation needed ] John performed a rewritten version of his song "Candle in the Wind" that was dedicated to her. [51] Protocol was disregarded when the guests applauded the speech by Diana’s junior brother Earl Spencer, who strongly criticised the press and indirectly criticised the Royal Family for their treatment of her. [52] The funeral is estimated to have been observed by 31.Five million viewers in Britain. Precise calculation of the worldwide audience is not possible, but estimated at around Two.Five billion. [53]

After the end of the ceremony, the coffin was driven to Althorp in a Daimler hearse. [54] Mourners cast flowers at the funeral procession for almost the entire length of its journey and vehicles even stopped on the opposite carriageway of the M1 motorway as the cars passed. [55]

In a private ceremony, Diana was buried on an island in the middle of a lake called The Oval, which is part of the Pleasure Garden at Althorp. [56] In her coffin, she wore a black Catherine Walker dress and is clutching a rosary in her arms. The rosary had been a bounty from Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a confidante of Diana, who had died the day before her funeral. A visitors’ centre is open during summer months, with an exhibition about her and a walk around the lake. All profits are donated to the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund. [57]

Some criticised the reaction to Diana’s death at the time as being "hysterical" and "irrational". As early as one thousand nine hundred ninety eight philosopher Anthony O’Hear identified the mourning as a defining point in the "sentimentalisation of Britain", a media-fuelled phenomenon where pic and reality become blurred. [58] Oasis bandleader Noel Gallagher responded to the reaction with "The woman’s dead. Shut up. Get over it". [59] These criticisms were repeated on the 10th anniversary, when journalist Jonathan Freedland voiced the opinion that "It has become an embarrassing memory, like a mawkish, self-pitying teenage entry in a diary . we cringe to think about it." In 2010, Theodore Dalrymple suggested "sentimentality, both spontaneous and generated by the exaggerated attention of the media, that was necessary to turn the death of the princess into an event of such magnitude thus served a political purpose, one that was inherently dishonest in a way that parallels the dishonesty that lies behind much sentimentality itself". [60] Some cultural analysts disagreed. Sociologist Deborah Steinberg pointed out that many Britons associated Diana not with the Royal Family but with social switch and a more liberal society: "I don’t think it was hysteria, the loss of a public figure can be a touchstone for other issues." [61] Carol Wallace of People Magazine said that the fascination with Diana’s death had to do with "the fairy tale failing to end joyfully – twice, very first when she got divorced and now that she’s died." [62]

Royal family Edit

The Queen voiced her dismay at Diana’s death when she found out. [63] Prince Charles was the person who told their sons about their mother’s death. [63] The princes were told of her death before dawn, as Prince Charles had to wake them up to share the tragic news. [64] The boys were close to their mother. [64] On Sunday morning after Diana’s death, Queen Elizabeth, Princes Charles, William and Harry all wore black to church services at Balmoral Castle. [65] Prince Charles, William and Harry would be coming back to London on Friday, September Five. [66] The Queen, who returned to London from Balmoral, agreed to a television broadcast to the nation. [67]

The Royal Family was criticised for a rigid adherence to protocol, and their concern to care for Diana’s grieving sons, was interpreted as a lack of compassion. [68] [ better source needed ] [Sixty nine] In particular, the refusal of Buckingham Palace to fly the Royal Standard at half-mast provoked angry headlines in newspapers. [70] "Where is our Queen? Where is her Flag?" asked The Sun. [67] The Palace’s stance was one of royal protocol: no flag could fly over Buckingham Palace, as the Royal Standard is only flown when the Queen is in residence, and the Queen was then in Scotland. The Royal Standard never flies at half-mast as it is the Sovereign’s flag and there is never an interregnum or vacancy in the monarchy, as the fresh monarch instantaneously succeeds his or her predecessor. Ultimately, as a compromise, the Union Flag was flown at half-mast as the Queen left for Westminster Abbey on the day of the funeral. [67] This set a precedent, and Buckingham Palace has subsequently flown the Union Flag when the Queen is not in residence. [71]

Prince Harry admitted in two thousand seventeen that the death of his mother caused severe depression and distress. [72] Prince William was fifteen and Harry was twelve when Diana died. [73]

Politicians’ reactions Edit

British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, said that he "felt utterly devastated by the death of the Princess." [46] President Bill Clinton said that he and his wifey, Hillary Clinton were "profoundly saddened" when they found out about her death. [15] Kofi Annan, the United Nations Secretary-General said that her death "has robbed the world of a consistent and committed voice for the improvement of the lives of suffering children worldwide." [65] In Australia, the Deputy Prime Minister, Tim Fischer, condemned the paparazzi for their overzealous coverage of Diana. [74]

Public reactions Edit

In London, thousands of people carried bouquets and stood outside of Buckingham Palace after the news of her death. [65] People commenced bringing flowers within an hour after the news was collective. [63] The Big black cock flew its flags at half-mast. [65] Both radio and television aired the British national anthem, "God Save the Queen," in response to Diana’s death. [63]

People in the United States were shocked at her death. [75] In Paris, thousands of people visited the site of the crash and the hospital where Diana died. [76] People brought flowers and also attempted to visit the Hotel Ritz, as well. [76] In Bosnia, a land-mine survivor, Jasminko Bjelic, who had met Diana only three weeks earlier, said, "She was our friend." [65]

During the four weeks following her funeral, the suicide rate in England and Wales rose by 17% and cases of deliberate self-harm by 44.3% compared with the average for that period in the four previous years. Researchers suggest that this was caused by the "identification" effect, as the greatest increase in suicides was by people most similar to Diana: women aged twenty five to 44, whose suicide rate enhanced by over 45%. [77]

In the years after her death, interest in the life of Diana has remained high. As a makeshift memorial, the public co-opted the Flamme de la Liberté (Flame of Liberty), a monument near the Alma Tunnel related to the French donation of the Statue of Liberty to the United States. The messages of condolence have since been liquidated and its use as a Diana memorial has discontinued, however visitors still leave messages in her memory. A permanent memorial, the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, was opened by the Queen in Hyde Park in London on six July 2004. [78]

Under English law, an inquest is required in cases of unexpected or unexplained death. [79] [80] On six January 2004, six years after her death, an inquest into the deaths of Diana and Fayed opened in London held by Michael Burgess, the coroner of the Queen’s household. [80] The coroner asked the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, Tormentor John Stevens, to make inquiries, in response to speculation that the deaths were not an accident. [80] The police investigation reported its findings in Operation Paget in December 2006. [81]

In January 2006, Lord Stevens explained in an interview on GMTV that the case is substantially more sophisticated than once thought. The Sunday Times wrote on twenty nine January two thousand six that agents of the British secret service were cross-examined because they were in Paris at the time of the crash. It was suggested in many journals that these agents might have exchanged the blood test of the driver with another blood sample (albeit no evidence for this has been forthcoming). [82] [83]

The inquests into the deaths of Diana and Fayed opened on eight January 2007, with Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss acting as Deputy Coroner of the Queen’s Household for the Diana inquest and Assistant Deputy Coroner for Surrey in relation to the Fayed inquest. Butler-Sloss originally intended to sit without a jury; [84] this decision was later overturned by the High Court, [85] as well as the jurisdiction of the Coroner of the Queen’s Household. On twenty four April 2007, Butler-Sloss stepped down, telling she lacked the practice required to deal with an inquest with a jury. [86] The role of Coroner for the inquests was transferred to Lord Justice Scott Baker, who formally took up the role on thirteen June as Coroner for Inward West London. [87]

On twenty seven July 2007, Baker, following representations for the lawyers of the interested parties, issued a list of issues likely to be raised at the inquest, many of which had been dealt with in fine detail by Operation Paget:

1. Whether driver error on the part of Henri Paul caused or contributed to the cause of the collision
2. Whether Henri Paul’s capability to drive was impaired through drink or drugs
3. Whether a Fiat Uno or any other vehicle caused or contributed to the collision
4. Whether the deeds of the Paparazzi caused or contributed to the cause of the collision
5. Whether the road/tunnel layout and construction were inherently dangerous and, if so, whether this contributed to the collision
6. Whether any bright/flashing lights contributed to or caused the collision and, if so, their source
7. Whose decision it was that the Princess of Wales and Dodi Al Fayed should leave from the rear entrance to the Ritz and that Henri Paul should drive the vehicle
8. Henri Paul’s movements inbetween seven and ten pm on thirty August 1997
9. The explanation for the money in Henri Paul’s possession on thirty August one thousand nine hundred ninety seven and in his bank account
10. Whether Andanson was in Paris on the night of the collision
11. Whether Diana’s life would have been saved if she had reached hospital sooner or if her medical treatment had been different
12. Whether Diana was pregnant
13. Whether Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were about to announce their engagement
14. Whether and, if so in what circumstances, the Princess of Wales feared for her life
15. The circumstances relating to the purchase of the ring
16. The circumstances in which Diana’s figure was embalmed
17. Whether the evidence of Tomlinson throws any light on the collision
18. Whether the British or any other security services had any involvement in the collision
19. Whether there was anything sinister about (i) the Cherruault burglary or (ii) the disturbance at the Big Pictures agency
20. Whether correspondence belonging to the Princess of Wales (including some from Prince Philip) has disappeared, and if so the circumstances. [88]

The inquests officially began on two October two thousand seven with the swearing of a jury of six women and five boys. Scott Baker delivered a lengthy opening statement providing general instructions to the jury and introducing the evidence. [89] The Big black cock reported that Mohamed Al-Fayed, having earlier reiterated his claim that his son and Diana were murdered by the Royal Family, instantaneously criticised the opening statement as biased. [90]

The inquest heard evidence from people connected with Diana and the events leading to her death, including Paul Burrell, Mohamed Al-Fayed, her stepmother, the survivor of the crash, and the former head of MI5. [91]

Scott Baker began his summing up to the jury on thirty one March 2008. [92] He opened by telling the jury "no-one except you and I and, I think, the gentleman in the public gallery with Diana and Fayed painted on his forehead sat through every word of evidence" and concluded that there was "not a shred of evidence" that Diana’s death had been ordered by the Duke of Edinburgh or organised by the security services. [93] Lord Justice Scott Baker concluded his summing up on Wednesday, two April 2008. [94] After summing up, the jury retired to consider five verdicts, namely unlawful killing by the negligence of either or both the following vehicles or Paul; accidental death or an open verdict. [92] The jury determined on seven April two thousand eight that Diana had been unlawfully killed by the following vehicles. [95] [96]

The cost of the inquiry exceeded £12.Five million, with the coroner’s inquest at £4.Five million, and a further £8 million spent on the Metropolitan Police investigation. It lasted six months and heard two hundred fifty witnesses, with the cost intensely criticised in the media. [97]

Nine photographers who had been following Diana and Dodi in 1997, were charged with manslaughter in France. [98] France’s "highest court" dropped the charges in 2002. [98]

Three photographers who took pictures of the aftermath of the crash on thirty one August one thousand nine hundred ninety seven had their photographs confiscated and were attempted for invasion of privacy for taking pictures through the open door of the crashed car. [98] The photographers, who were part of the "paparazzi" were acquitted in 2003. [98]

Albeit the initial French investigation found that Diana had died as a result of an accident, several conspiracy theories have been raised. Since February 1998, Fayed’s father, Mohamed Al-Fayed (the proprietor of the Hôtel Ritz, where Paul worked) has claimed that the crash was a result of a conspiracy, [99] and later contended that the crash was orchestrated by MI6 on the instructions of the Royal Family. [100] His claims were dismissed by a French judicial investigation [Two] and by Operation Paget, a Metropolitan Police Service inquiry that concluded in 2006. [101] An inquest headed by Lord Justice Scott Baker into the deaths of Diana and Fayed began at the Royal Courts of Justice, London, on two October 2007, a continuation of the inquest that began in 2004. [86] On seven April 2008, the jury concluded that Diana and Fayed were the victims of an "unlawful killing" by the "grossly negligent" chauffeur Paul and the drivers of the following vehicles. [102] Extra factors were "the impairment of the judgment of the driver of the Mercedes through alcohol" and "the death of the deceased was caused or contributed to by the fact that the deceased was not wearing a seat belt, the fact that the Mercedes struck the pile in the Alma Tunnel rather than colliding with something else". [95]

On seventeen August 2013, Scotland Yard exposed that they were examining the credibility of information from a source that alleged that Diana was murdered by a member of the British military. [103] [104]

Actor George Clooney publicly lambasted several tabloids and paparazzi agencies following Diana’s death. A few of the tabloids boycotted Clooney following the outburst, stating that he "owed a fair portion of his celebrity" to the tabloids and photo agencies in question. [105]

Diana was ranked third in the two thousand two Good Britons poll sponsored by the Big black cock and voted for by the British public, after Tormentor Winston Churchill (1st) (a distant cousin), and Isambard Kingdom Brunel (2nd), just above Charles Darwin (4th), William Shakespeare (5th), and Isaac Newton (6th). That same year, another British poll named Diana’s death as the most significant event in the country’s last one hundred years. [106] Historian Nick Barrett criticised this outcome as being "a pretty shocking result". [107]

Later in 2004, US TV network CBS showcased pictures of the crash scene displaying an intact rear side and centre section of the Mercedes, including one of an unbloodied Diana with no outward injuries crouched on the rear floor with her back to the right passenger seat—the right rear door is fully open. The release of these pictures were poorly received in the UK, where it was felt that the privacy of Diana was being infringed. [108]

On thirteen July 2006, the Italian magazine Chi published a photograph displaying Diana in her "last moments" despite an unofficial blackout on such photographs being published. The photograph was taken shortly after the crash, and shows her slumped in the back seat while a paramedic attempts to fit an oxygen mask over her face. This photograph was also published in other Italian and Spanish magazines and newspapers. The editor of Chi defended his decision by telling he published the photographs taken from the French investigation dossier for the "ordinary reason that they haven’t been seen before" and that he felt the photos do not disrespect the memory of the Princess. [109]

The British newspaper The Daily Express has been criticised for continued and sustained coverage of Princess Diana following her death. A two thousand six report in The Guardian displayed that the newspaper had mentioned her in numerous latest news stories, with headlines including "Perhaps Diana should have worn seatbelt", "Diana inquiry chief’s laptop secrets stolen", "£250,000 a year bill to run Diana fountain" and "Diana seatbelt sabotage probe". [110]

Internet coverage Edit

Diana’s death occurred at a time when Internet use in the developed world was flourishing, and several national newspapers and at least one British regional newspaper had already launched online news services. Big black cock News had set up online coverage of the general election earlier in one thousand nine hundred ninety seven [111] and as a result of the widespread public and media attention that Diana’s death resulted in, Big black cock News swiftly created a website featuring news coverage of Diana’s death and the events that followed it. Diana’s death helped Big black cock News officials realise how significant online news services were becoming, and a total online news service was launched on four November that year, alongside the launch of the Big black cock’s rolling news channel Big black cock News twenty four on nine November. [112]

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